Weekend Watch: Show some leg

The summer days that are made for dogs continue on and fortunately for those of us who walk on two feet there is international football to help pass the time. The same thing applies if you walk on one foot too or if your butt is permanently implanted on a couch. In addition to the international festivities, this weekend we see the start of a new season in at least one country. Here’s a look at some randomly selected action for you to keep an eye on while manning the lemonade stand.

Saturday

Cruzeiro v Goiás – Normally I don’t have a rooting interest in games involving teams in 8th and 9th place in Brazil, but now that we have (possibly) the world’s only English language Cruzeiro blog I can firmly say that Goiás are going to eat shit and die this weekend (unless we get a Goiás blog before then, in which case I would love Goiás like the son I’ve never had).

Uruguay v Mexico – It is a popular myth that the third place game of a tournament is more entertaining than the championship. This game will have to be pretty darned special to top Sunday’s Copa America final between Brazil and Argentina.

Austria v United States – The U-20 US team is the most entertaining collection of American soccer players I’ve laid eyes on and my eyes have been laying for many, many years.

Sunday

Shakhtar v Dynamo – Hide the women and children! The Ukrainian Premier League season kicks off this weekend. For those unfamiliar with the league, there are 16 teams. The bottom two get relegated. The top team is almost always Dynamo. They’ve won the league 12 out of 16 years. Shakhtar have won it three times.

Odd Grenland v Stromsgodset – Not sure what exactly makes Grenland so odd, but they are a club with a bit of tradition in Norway. They’ve won the Norwegian Cup the most times of any team in the country. This year they are struggling near the bottom of the table. Former Colorado Rapids defender Nat Borchers somehow ended up at this club. Odd.

Brazil v Argentina – These two South American powers have met 88 times with Brazil winning 34, Argentina 33 and 21 times there has been a draw. In those games, Argentina have scored a total of 142 goals and Brazil 137. Brazil have more World Cup trophies. Argentina have more Copa America trophies. Let’s call this rivalry even and just enjoy the heck out of the Copa America final.

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Category: World Football